Reeling in a school’s worth of red herrings, County Attorney Al Hadeed today fervently defended the authority of County Commissioner Dave Sullivan to ask Flagler Beach government a week and a half ago to pull from discussion a request from the County Commission for support of a proposed increase in the sales tax.
The County Commission, by consensus, had directed County Administrator Heidi Petito in late July to send letters to each of the local municipalities, requesting that they in turn write letters of support for the sales tax increase. Petito did so. The Flagler Beach City Commission placed the request on its agenda for discussion at its meeting on July 27. (See: “Tone-Deaf Flagler County Wants Palm Coast and Other Cities to Support Sales Tax Increase.”)
Addressing the County Commission today, Hadeed never mentioned that, in fact, Sullivan never himself went before the city commission on the 27th–that it was Hadeed who did so, on behalf of Sullivan, who had not been able to make the meeting. Hadeed’s appearance before the Flagler Beach commissioners was brief, and his request was specific: “He would like you to table it until your next meeting,” Hadeed told the city officials, referring to Sullivan. (See: “Without Authority, a County Commissioner Asks Flagler Beach to Table Sales Tax Increase Discussion.”)
It is extremely unusual–it is unheard of in the last 14 years–for an individual commissioner to unilaterally request such a delay, without the authority of the commissioner’s board behind it. It circumvents the directive of the commission and gives the appearance of inappropriate maneuverings. Sullivan says he did not discuss the request with his own commissioners beforehand. That would have been a violation of sunshine. Nor had there been time for a discussion, since the commission wasn’t meeting in the interim. Sullivan asked Hadeed to appear before the commission and ask for the item to be pulled, so he (Sullivan) could work on the item some more, though there’d been no discussion at the county commission to that end, either.
“There was some question that was raised as to the legality of Commissioner Sullivan going to address the Flagler Beach City Commission on an item which it had agendaed regarding the proposed surtax,” Hadeed told his own commissioners today, referring to the FlaglerLive article that reported the matter last week. (See: “Without Authority, a County Commissioner Asks Flagler Beach to Table Sales Tax Increase Discussion.”) “The suggestion was made that that was not authorized, that that was in contradiction to the board’s action, that it was an improper action. Some of this occurred in a news article, some in social media. I just want to make the record absolutely clear that every one of those statements is totally off base, and are inconsistent with the authority that each of you have as a commissioner, to address the groups as you wish.”
Hadeed then proceeded to conflate any elected official’s right and authority to appear before any elected or non-elected body, or at any meeting, which, contrary to his claim, was never questioned, with Sullivan’s wish to supplant his own commission’s direction, without his commission’s approval–an entirely different matter, regardless of the circumstances. (Sullivan had legitimate reasons to seek a delay: the administrator’s letter included some serious errors, and the proposal is acutely half-baked: missteps trip into missteps.)
Sullivan in an interview insisted that he was acting on his own, and Hadeed stressed that that could only have been the case.
“When you go to meetings and you speak, unless you have been specifically directed otherwise by the board, you’re only speaking as an individual commissioner,” Hadeed told the county commissioners, accurately enough. But if that’s what Sullivan had intended in his request to the city commission, it was only implied, not stated. Hadeed simply made the request that Sullivan wished to have the item pulled. He didn’t qualify. Sheathed from clarity, the implications cut both ways: Sullivan (or Hadeed) could just as easily have been speaking for the commission. None of that was made clear.
There was no explanation–no mention that it was Sullivan’s request as an individual, certainly no mention that he had not been directed by the commission to have the item pulled. It would have been simpler, and less questionable, had the administration alone requested that the item be pulled pending a few corrections, since the letter’s wording and alleged facts were the administration’s doing. The directive alone was the commission’s–the directive Sullivan was unilaterally interfering with.
Then came more red herrings as Hadeed likened the Sullivan request to the way commissioners host town hall meetings or sit on advisory boards, as commissioners routinely do. “But you know that when you go there, you’re speaking only yourself, you’re one of five, you’re not going there and saying, Look, I’m speaking for the entire commission,” Hadeed said. But those appearances never (or never should) entail an individual commissioner interfering with a commission directive. They are informational meetings, not requests for action–as Hadeed’s request to the city commission very much was: the city commission considered the request and took a vote to table the discussion of the sales tax.
Still, Hadeed went on with an assertion entirely superfluous, since commissioners’ right to address bodies and groups was never in question: “You could not fulfill your constitutional responsibilities as elected legislative members of this body if you were not permitted to go to talk to groups, on your relationship with them as an individual commissioner,” he said.
“So these comments that are out there, that somehow there was something wrong: there was nothing wrong,” Hadeed continued. “There was nothing wrong that Commissioner Sullivan was proposing to do that was inconsistent with any board action that contravened any board decision, and he would have gone to address them purely as the commissioner from his district, representing the city of Flagler Beach.” Again, he did not mention that Sullivan himself had not gone, or why he would have felt the need to go.
Astoundingly, none of the county commissioners exhibited the slightest curiosity–either about Sulivan/Hadeed’s request to the city commission, or about the sales tax request. None asked Sullivan why he wished to have the item tabled. None asked Petito whether she had sent the letter to all municipalities. Sullivan himself did not provide an explanation for his actions, all of which suggests either that the commissioners are woefully disengaged from or indifferent to their own rather momentous request to the cities, not to mention the unilateral actions of one of their own; or they know something that hasn’t been discussed in the open. Since they claim not to break sunshine (“you can’t do that. You already know that,” Hadeed had told them today), it leaves indifference.
If they’re that indifferent, it’s difficult to imagine why the cities would want to make up in enthusiasm or responsibility what the County Commission is itself failing to provide in accurate information, to say nothing of conviction. For the second time in two years, commissioners’ sales tax proposal has been a series of slithers, errors, obfuscations, and now red herrings. The county’s proposal, in sum, rings hollow even before it tolls. (See: “How Flagler County’s Drunken-Sailor, All-Republican Commissioners Tried to Con You Into a Higher Tax.”)
It has not been an auspicious start for what would be, dollar for dollar, the largest collective tax increase in Flagler County since Palm Coast succeeded in winning the first half cent in 2002 and the school district added its own, though back then both initiatives were done by popular referendum. This half cent would be added unilaterally (an approach clearly favored by this commission) by the County Commission in a supermajority vote of at least four members, the way the commission renewed the first half cent in 2012.
The sales tax proposal is nowhere on Palm Coast’s long workshop agenda on Tuesday.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
Way past time to fire Hadeed. He never represents county – he hired outside counsel. He doesn’t even approve county ordinances or resolutions other than ‘ as to form’. Legal Zoom and so is the Florida Statutes website woudl be much cheaper and much more accurate. Again, over $100,000 in OUR TAX money wasted on the idiotic Captains Lawsuit which should have been thrown out of court in 2019 yet it goes on 4 years later while the owners of Captains run a second business on boats from OUR PAID FOR DOCKS while they sue us for lost income they can’t earn because the building has to be ‘torn down’………. Heidi was a part of this fiasco also. $600 a month rent and you get to keep all your booze profits – no audit – no percentage of prfits – just $600 a month and free use of our expensive floating docs for their costly boat tour business.
Then Hadeed still has nerve to tell a commission how ‘rich’ the owners of the illegal rat infested Old Dixie hotel is even through they had not paid their stinking low property taxes as of $4,500 until after JUNE 2! And that was because I reminded Hadeed thrid party what a jackass I think he is. That hotel he is allowing to stay -he allows an illegal sign that says ‘ HOTEL AND RESTAURANT COMING SOON” even though not one iota of work ( other than tearing down the original restaurant and filling in the pool have been done in 12 years…) Hadeed has an active lawsuit going – and has paid and keeps paying the former county attorney, pal McKinnen around $40,000 to keep a going no-where lawsuit alive – he is even allowing the owners – 2 years after the county had permission – from the owner – to knock down the hotel- to submit new phony internet renderings…. And it goes on. The Plantation Bay Water fiasco – allowing original owner to keep some land that was in the original contract in 2013 – his pushing the price from $2,5 million to over 5 million ( which we in P Bay are still paying)
The Old Hospital – the Sears Fiasco – playing GOD in going door to door to get signatures to save HIS primary residence which sits feet from the ocean – he lost use of his house a few years ago and will do anything to make the rest of us pay to make sure doesn’t happen to him again.
FIRE HADEED – before you RETIRE HIM with more of our tax dollars.
He is , in my lay person opinion, a fraud and a total waste of our tax money and is always looking for us to get involved in lawsuits so he can farm them out to his buddies to defend ( my unproven gut feeling). AMEN. Now if 3 commissioners research what I have touched upon to prove he can be fired…
It is time our commissioners stopped taking advice from staff and doing what staff wants and begin doing their job by TELLING staff what they want for us – they are legislators – they are supposed to make law not come to class with a pen in their hands to put check marks next to millions of dollars being spent on issues they know nothing about – and that includes HADEED”S games with our tax dollars ( my opinion) which the majority of the commissioners think is just wonderful for all of us. I hope many of you are as disgusted with him as I am. One of the reasons I ran for office was my desire to make a motion to FIRE him…… never too late…
Tom D Hutson says
Attorney Defends Commissioner
I commend Flagler Live for posting this article. Every resident in Flagler County should read both this article and the article listed in the body of the article (“See, How Flagler County’s Drunken-Sailor, All-Republican Commissioners Tried to Con You into a Higher Tax.”)
Enough said about the articles! They speak for themselves. Read both articles!
County Attorney Al Hadeed is the hired Attorney for the entire Flagler County Commission to give legal advice, not to act as a representative for just one commissioner. I find it very hard to believe that Mr. Hadeed believes what he did at the Flagler Beach Commission was proper. Mr. Hadeed gives a great example of “Plausibility”, using Commissioner Committee assignments when speaking as one for the group. Mr. Hadeed should take a minute or two and listen in some dark room alone to what he said at the Tuesday August 7th County Commission meeting.
If Mr. Hadeed still believes he did nothing wrong then, Mr. Hadeed should take note of the fact that there are three commissioner seats up for election in 2024, two will be vacant seats. The old adage of “One Should Ask Themselves, where will I Work? If Not Working Here?”
Yes! Before anyone gets heartburn, I am a candidate for one of the vacated seats.
BLINDSPOTTING says
Yep, that’s how they operate all in unison but unilaterally, or maybe they have some magical
powers of reading each others minds unilaterally all with poker faces, time to clean house,
2 are going adios as they say, and 2 need more need to be voted out next time around hopefully
one of those 2 will choose not to run but the other is another career politician, he needs to
be voted out, why didn’t Petito apologize for her giving false infomation about the misused
false information regarding the false 40 percent sales tax by visitors in Flagler County when it’s
actually 16 percent nationwide and we are not even on the radar. Or is that too beneath her.
Ed says
Next…I can’t know if this was a procedural misstep or something else.
What’s the big deal? The tax won’t fly.
Ben Hogarth says
We are in wildly grey area here, so let me just start with that. Al Hadeed is not in the wrong, nor is the Commissioner, but when we are carrying out our public duty, we always should be taking public perception into account – and I think there’s a bit of a failure here in that regard at least.
On one hand, it is clear (obvious) that a rogue commissioner has the potential to cause damage to the public trust by falsely representing the position of the entire commission. However, a dissenting commissioner still has the right to petition other elected officials / bodies to consider alternative perspectives so long as that commissioner is not fraudulently representing their position as the official position of the governing entity. This would not be a contravention of law or abuse of position and office. And I believe that is what Al Hadeed is trying to convey. Quite to the contrary, it is just as much a duty as it is a right of an elected official as a TRUSTEE of the public good to convey the minority opinion. We don’t just recognize majority rule in this country, without still protecting the minority – that applies to opinions just as much as it does people.
But with all the formalities of law out of the way, I do agree with FlaglerLive that in this instance, there is a perception of impropriety or political maneuvering rather than an altruistic interest in the public good. Unfortunately, we live in a time where people are ineffective communicators (or simply cannot untangle the misinformation web) and thus relegate themselves to some lesser standard in order to convey an opinion without having to speak one’s entire mind. I suppose this works in the world of The Godfather, but it makes for bad public business practice.
I’d also like to stipulate that this opinion is coming from someone who is in favor of levying the final and maximum half-cent sales surtax (as 45 other Florida counties already do). I believe that any tax that can more broadly applied so as to avoid limiting the impact to residents IS a better option than solely burdening the resident. And I do recognize that the majority opinion that has been communicated on this forum and perhaps in public comment (generally) is an unfavorable one with regard to tax increases. A tax increase is unpopular? Color me unsurprised. I long for the day where paying one’s taxes is tantamount to an act of patriotism rather than a feverish resentment of institution. You could say I’m still a bit of a Republic idealist in that regard.
But here we are, once again having a discussion (dare I say argument) about whether a tax increase is a wholly good thing or an act of ill will. I’ve seen more than two decades of it in Flagler, so this isn’t exactly a new playing field or playbook. I just can’t help but feel some genuine remorse for the citizens of Flagler who continue to vote for tax increases every time they go to the ballot box, under some false pretense that they are voting for “fiscal conservatism.” But if you cannot make cuts to sheriff services, fire services, public works, etc… at the same rate or level as you do other seemingly “softer” services – you aren’t fiscally responsible at all. You’re just picking and choosing the services that you prefer.
And there’s nothing ideal or altruistic about that.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
The Rockettes may get jealous from all that tap dancing.
Gina Weiss says
Tom D. Hudson: You have my vote! You should read the gaslighting email that was sent to me
regarding legal issues Ms. Pennington had turned over to Hadeed for answers. He should
be fired and it’s time that these issues are brought forward so that the public can see and
understand what goes on with this commission. I would like to contact you so that
we can discuss further. Hadeed does use “Red Herring” distraction , he’s a real pro with it.
Jane Gentile Youd is right on target in what she speaks about, too bad she does not
have a seat on this commission, she has a good mouthpiece and knows how they bamboozle
the citizens in our county.
Thomas Hutson says
TDHutson4501@gmail.com Also my Facebook. Tom Hutson
celia pugliese says
You got my vote too!.
We need change to improve the county commission and have it work for the residents taxpayers!
I totally agree with your post here. Both county and city waste our hard earned tax dollars to benefit those that are not the current residents. The county created mayhem for Palm Coast communities bringing in 2008 all these worldwide pilot students to train over our homes when they invited them to practice “touch and goes” from the airport! Residents in Quail Hollow and Seminole Woods are the more aggressively impacted. This incredible growth is approved by original land zone changing affecting the existing residents. On top of it all the county commission wants to increase the sales tax…I just receive my ad valorem notice and if they pass what county wants, my house tax will increase by over $112 and because I am homesteaded. My friends and neighbors that are not, probably will endure an increase 3 to 4 times that. Mr. Hutson welcome to the county commission.